Here is the long form version of the report prepared for Good Game on Australian Cyber League‘s Melbourne event which took place on the 10th and 11th of August. I also submitted a short version which was the basis for the item that aired.

In our first report on the top events in the Australian esports scene, Australian Cyber League held its second major event of the year, in Melbourne last weekend.

Over 400 players and spectators gathered for League of Legends, Starcraft 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops, with the 220 competitors vying to take a share in over 18,000 of prizes.

The event was defined by new blood challenging top players, with unsigned LOL team Wobbly Bears shocked the field with powerful team play and make it the final with Team Immunity. However the winners of the PAX Riot event held firm, showing why they’ll be representing Australia in Germany later this year.

Starcraft favourite Moonglade fell victim to teammate Rossi during regular rounds, but it was another Zerg player, Iaguz, with outstanding micro skills and command over the TVZ (Terran vs Zerg) matchup, who pushed through the base of runner up Petraeus to claim top spot.

Finally, in a nailbiting COD:BO final, newcomers Capital Punishment created a sensational near upset, taking highly touted, Team Immunity to the limit. A clutch comeback after losing 3 flag carriers in the capture the flag round granted victory in a match where a split second difference would have meant defeat.

After climbing the points ladder over the season, players can now look forward to ACLPro’s Sydney National final later this year.

Datapoints:

I interviewed ACL CEO Nick Vanzetti for some hard and fast data on the event, then talked with players and team managers for insight into the key moments of each tournament. Thanks to Derek Reball of team NV in particular for his COD insights, and a special thanks to ACL stream master JB Hewitt for being a consummate professional and supplying great raw footage of the event

General Questions:

What is the overall prize pool?

18,000 total pool

ACL Melbourne is the 2nd major of the year. What event does this lead to?

Good Game is Australia’s longest running dedicated video game show, and the only one that runs on a national free to air network. Deservedly, it’s becoming an institution much like “At The Movies” is for film reviews. GG is definitely review focused, but it’s long had a good news and features element, and always delivers with a good sense of humour and fun.

From time to time GG has covered competitive gaming events or eSports, but hasn’t found a way to do so consistently. Other than being a fan of the show and watching it to see an Australian perspective on gaming, I’ve also taken special interest in events coverage, and I’ve a little personal history on that count too. I was interviewed on the show once upon a time in 2007, after winning the Dead or Alive 4 Championship at World Cyber Games – Watch it here.

So when I saw GG airing a section of their PAX panel where they expressed interest in esports coverage, but not being sure “how” to do it, I sent a message to exec producer Janet Carr, offering to help. Janet, a good sport, followed it up and I made a pitch. It turns out we had similar ideas.

We discussed a simple way to include esports/competitive gaming through a fairly topline “sports report” section as part of the news segment, based on results, top players, and key moments. I offered to provide copy and would work with events to provide footage. This seemed like the best format for the show, given the time constraints of the news segment. The straightforward approach focusing on event results keeps it manageable from a freelance perspective, and seems to bring a benefit to the end result too, by treating Australian events as-is without having to puff anything up.

The timing was perfect, given an event I was familiar with was coming up. For the first report I worked with Australian Cyber League on their 2013 Melbourne event to trial with the new format. Knowing the team that runs ACL, and that they are great particularly with video content, I got in touch and worked out a plan to obtain footage. Then, I attended the event, and thanks to the input of players, team managers and the ACL team, I gathered the key info I needed. For your interest, I’ve posted the longer form draft of my report here

So it’s great to be able to contribute to the show, and the GG team combining the report I handed in and the footage with their signature flair. The material and the event was treated seriously, with an engaging and amusing read from presenter Steven “Bajo” O’Donnell.

The segment came together really well, and based on the positive reaction, there will definitely be more.

What comes next? Feedback, and Coverage of upcoming events

I’m in regular contact with event organisers and will be targeting future events to compile reports for Good Game. If you want to bring an event to my attention or just get in contact, you can tweet me on @BerzerkDC or email me berzerkdc [at] gmail [dot] com

As a lazy blogger, I’m reposting my Facebook post on the inaugural PAX Australia from the Sunday night after getting home. Find it below.

What a weekend. Thanks ‪#‎PAXAus‬ team, attendees, for such a positive vibe & especially everyone who said hi or came to the 3 panels I managed to swindle my way onto!

Just walking the event and chatting to people was great, so many cool things going on and people having fun. Having the time to stop and get a detailed look at something, or take in a panel, is what enlivens any con, and I felt like PAX was set up to make this feel easier to do. The exhibit hall was big, impressive, loud, vertical and cool. The marquee walkways between sections was genius and made it feel inclusive and cohesive. The food vendors were actually really good (MRBURGER!), and the Big Top area was actually relaxing, fun, energising, all the same time, with the mix of bean bags to chill out on, console games to play, and the constant murmur of people enjoying themselves at tabletop. It also had heaters. Oh man.

Had a great response to all of the panels – a real highlight and privilege to run two and be a guest on one.

A panel wrap up and shoutouts:

The Anime and Gaming panel on the Friday really set me on a high note, so many cool questions, people were really engaged and interested. From what felt like a fun, niche subject, to what was a packed out session to which we got heaps of good feedback, its clearly something people felt a strong positive response to. I think we’ll definitely have to do this one again.
Working at the Madman booth all Friday was a treat, even 5 weeks on the trot of doing cons, thanks to my colleagues and the enthusiastic attendees.
Big props to the panelists who joined me, Kwenton Bellette, Nathan Robert Cocks, T-Rex Jones, Jason O’Callaghan, Bradley D-Yoshii Jolly – what a smart bunch. I think we have video and audio of this one that we can piece together, so this will be fun to revisit.

On Saturday the Crafting a Game for the Otaku Crowdwas a treat, taking some of the anime panel themes but more strongly focusing on Japanese game development, thanks to special guest Miyauchi-san, of Omega Force, producer of the Dynasty Warriors games. Was really fascinating, and fun to be part of essentially a panel interview of the guest. The search for refinement and perfection in Japanese development was so intriguing, I had many questions to ask myself. Thanks heaps James Kozanecki for inviting me on the panel, Paul Houlihan for erudite, interesting and well crafted hosting, and Brad Jolly again for detailed knowledge! This was great.

Finally today, the State of Play: Competitive Gaming and Esportspanel was a rewarding one to be part of, touching on such an indepth topic was always going to be tricky to contain in an hour. Focusing on the organisers/organisations running events now felt like the right way to go, and sharing positive stories on the scene was really fun. I hope it serves as a good conversation starter and inspires some collaboration. BIG thank you and much credit to the participation of panelists Nick Vanzetti, Jessie Vonangel Rozema, Alex Walker, Mark West and Derek Reball, great contributions. Great to talk to and see many other fine esports people at the show and panel who contributed in some way. Working together, we can build it stronger